This invention relates to wireless debit cards, and more particularly to the application of a wireless debit card to a radio telephone system.
Credit cards, debit cards, point of sale (POS) cards, automatic teller machine (ATM) cards, declining balance cards, and the like have been used in the art for some time. In operation with the telephone networks, credit cards termed calling cards are available where a user with an account uses the calling card to access the telephone network. In accessing the telephone network, the calling card may be inserted through the slot of a telephone to a card reader, or alternatively, an account number on the card may be entered in the telephone, for example, by a touch-tone keypad. In either case, the amount of the telephone call is charged to the user""s calling card account for later payment.
Similarly, a user may purchase a debit card for a certain amount of credit for purchases and charges. For example, charges to telephone calls, with the credit allocated to the debit card, are deducted from the amount of credit purchased. In use, the user inserts the debit card into a pay telephone and the available credit on the debit card is debited for the amount used.
A problem with prior art debit card and credit card systems is that the debit/credit card systems have generally been limited to the existing fixed position telephone network, with the debit/credit card systems relying primarily on fixed telephones and general purpose pay telephones for initiating telephone calls.
In addition, the existing card storage systems provide for identification data and other data to be stored on the card, for example, by using magnetic strips to be read by a magnetic swipe reader. Existing smartcards and future card storage systems promise to provide greater detail regarding the card user, with the greater detail stored on a card having greater storage capacity, for example, a card including one or more computer chips having a memory. The computer chips may also include microprocessors in addition to the memory, with the microprocessors allowing the user with the debit/credit card to access computer systems with the debit/credit card. Furthermore, the use of the computer chips with memories allows the storage and access of data beyond user identification; for example, computer chips can include user addresses and telephone numbers, credit and debit account histories, and available credit and debit limits.
However, the prior art has limited the use of the card storage systems to fixed pay telephones having card readers, primarily by magnetic swipe readers reading debit/credit cards with magnetic strips. In the prior art, telephones without card readers, for example, non-pay telephones and mobile cellular telephones, can only access the existing telephone network using debit/credit cards by entering an account number and/or a personal identification number (PIN) in the telephone. The advantages of developments in card storage systems to hold greater information about the user and the user""s account activities are unable to be fully implemented by the prior art.
Furthermore, debit/credit card systems used in conjunction with the existing telephone networks are limited to the accessing of the telephone network to make telephone calls. The prior art does not provide for the reception of telephone calls to users accessing the telephone network with a credit card or debit card, unless the user leaves the telephone number of the telephone being accessed with a listener. In addition, some pay telephones may not be permitted, by the operating telephone company, to send calls to the pay telephones, i.e. some pay telephones allow calls out from the pay telephone but do not allow calls in to the pay telephone, since the telephone company does not receive payment for calls in to the pay telephone in the same manner as payment for calls out from the pay telephone.
The present telephone network switches telephone calls for a user to fixed telephone numbers with the fixed telephone numbers allocated to specific telephones, so a user is limited to receiving telephone calls to fixed telephone numbers and to specific telephones. The prior art does not provide for the automatic switching of telephone calls to users, especially travelers, at telephones which are not allocated to the users.
Moreover, present debit/credit card systems have been limited in application to merchant point of sale (POS) applications and to the described uses with telephones. Other consumer electronic applications, for example, personal computers, facsimile machines, and automobiles would also benefit from a wireless debit card system in providing a debit card system free from specifically allocated telephone numbers.
A monetary amount is allocated to a user of a radio unit. The user initiates a wireless telephone call using the radio unit to engage in a local transaction other than for wireless telephone services. The user is permitted to engage in the local transaction based on in part the allocated monetary amount. A monetary amount associated with the local transaction is debited from the allocated monetary amount.